I'm not here to sway votes. Would like to foment discussion on an unfiltered view of a candidate's speech.

We are all busy so I understand.

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I just think you believe the speech to be a little more important than it really was. Apparently there were those in the crowd that didn't like his focus on "the blacks" and then there were many black people who attacked his speech and said he still missed the point.

Side note: have you seen insult comic dog's fake Trump ads focus group on real Trump supporters? Comic gold.

He did speak for several minutes about Education in inner-city school systems.

How do you feel about his proposal to retain good teachers with Merit-Based pay?

Giving more power to get rid of bad teachers who are protected by the NEA (in the pocket of the Democratic Party) ?

I went to a diverse public middle-class school district in New Jersey. I was in the Honors tract so I had some fantastic teachers. Some of my gym/art teachers were obviously just phoning it in with their tenure protected. I can easily see where the problem can exist where bad apples can stay, preventing opportunity for new inspiring teachers to enter the system.

He also touched on charter schools. A GOP promoted policy for the past 2 decades. Not a cover-all solution for everybody but there are success stories.

I've never had a chance to see the documentary 'Waiting for Superman' that deals with education in urban centers. Did catch some of the commentary on families having to go through the lottery system to send their kids to better schools. Seemed like it was a make or break moment for their kid's futures.

Location: In a dimension known as the Twilight Zone...do de doo doo, do de doo doo...

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Quote:

Originally Posted by BEAL

Remember when a teleprompter was a sign of weakness and embarrassment?

Now it's considered badge of honor if you can do it without mistake

I just remember people on the right mocking Obama for using teleprompters. But now they're suddenly a-ok with Trump using them.

(I personally couldn't care less whether a politician uses a teleprompter or not. Just noting the double standard with Trump and Obama on that issue.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregoropa

It's not about who's nuts are touching the floor.

So Trump's thing of making dick jokes during the primaries as well as he and the other GOP candidates basically engaging in a ridiculous pissing match with each other, was...what, then?

And let's not forget Trump's utterly obnoxious back and forth with Cruz that involved him mocking Cruz' wife openly online. Remind me again exactly why should we allow, or trust, somebody that horribly immature to be president?

Also, to Diemen, thanks for the post regarding the e-mail thing. Very interesting.

Charter schools are hit and miss, there's no real way to measure their effectivity. Some are nonprofits, some are for profits, the laws vary state to state and because there's no regulatory factor how universities view their qualifications greatly varies.

But because they don't function under the DOE they're a conservative wet dream. But they're like HSAs, they get touted by Republicans ad-nauseam, but they only work for a select few.

But what I want to know is why they are trying to work from the top down rather than the bottom up. Win some local councils, achieve the balance of power in state legislatures, etc. Establish a reliable supporter base and use it as the foundation to attain higher office. This is Electioneering 101.

OK, I'm aware they have a handful of councillors, and maybe here I have the problem of looking from a distance, but I have the impression that the US Greens by and large do a presidential electoral drive-by every four years and are otherwise missing in action, even at midterms.

That's true. I worked for the Green Party for a season, and they were talking about who they would support on the Dem ticket.

I just think you believe the speech to be a little more important than it really was. Apparently there were those in the crowd that didn't like his focus on "the blacks" and then there were many black people who attacked his speech and said he still missed the point.

Side note: have you seen insult comic dog's fake Trump ads focus group on real Trump supporters? Comic gold.

I just watched the Jill Stein town hall on CNN. She has an impressive (African American) running mate, who has made some inflammatory remarks but generally sounds sincere.

Stein has an impressive bio, but like Carson lacks real credibility on policies. I am taken aback about her anti-militaristic, "let's remove all American bases around the world" statement, and the general idea that sanctions and banning arms sales will bring peace to the Middle East. She thinks the US hasn't been attacked yet, so no immanent threat, so....cumbauya! Uh, San Bernadino, Orlando...?

She does think that Hillary's actions have been dangerous, citing Libya for instance, and she thinks that she does not have the right Feminism, which should be nurturing, not militaristic...hmmm.

Oh, and she's courting the 43 million youth vote by promising to remove all student debt. That's her way of corralling the Sanders voters, I suppose, even with such a long shot third party vote...

But what I want to know is why they are trying to work from the top down rather than the bottom up. Win some local councils, achieve the balance of power in state legislatures, etc. Establish a reliable supporter base and use it as the foundation to attain higher office. This is Electioneering 101.

OK, I'm aware they have a handful of councillors, and maybe here I have the problem of looking from a distance, but I have the impression that the US Greens by and large do a presidential electoral drive-by every four years and are otherwise missing in action, even at midterms.

The obsession with the presidency strikes me as somewhat fetishistic and naive myself. Even a significant Green bloc in Congress could have real impact in a way that a (hypothetical, nevergunnahappen) Green President could not. For all the lazy condemnation thrown their way, that (congressional races) is indeed where both the Dean and Sanders campaigns, respectively, turned/are turning their sights when the two morphed into post-presidential-run organisations.

That said, it's not clear to me that I would support the US Greens. Not so much because they're too leftwing; because they're too incoherent, and at times just silly. If I lived over there, I'd be one of those left-wing-of-the-Democrats people.